The Comics Alternative is weekly podcast focusing on the world of alternative, independent, and primarily non-superhero comics. (There's nothing wrong with superhero comics. We just want to do something different.) New podcast episodes become available every Wednesday and include reviews of graphic novels and current ongoing series, discussions of upcoming comics, examinations of collected editions, in-depth analyses of a variety of comics texts, and spotlights on various creators and publishers. The Comics Alternative also produces "special feature" programs, such as shows specifically dedicated to creator interviews, webcomics, on-location events, and special non-weekly themes and topics.

This week Andy and Derek discuss
five new titles. They start off with Michael DeForge's latest
book, Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero(Drawn and
Quarterly). While this is an unusual story, it's nonetheless one of
DeForge's most conventional stories, at least when compared to many
of his previous works. It's an episodic narrative about its titular
character, a multi-talented 49-year-old woman who moves to a
Canadian national park to escape a scandal surrounding her
rich father's finances. There she befriends a bunny named Oatmeal,
a moose lawyer who goes by the name "Lisa Hanawalt," a love-struck
eel, a "marked" young woman called Girl McNally, dumb geese, proxy
ants, a bear chronicler, and the park's wannabe reporter "Michael
DeForge." Did we mention that this is one of DeForge's
more conventional stories? This title began as
a
webcomic on Tumblr, and while people can still find the
complete comic up and available, the guys strongly recommend that
listeners get the new book to fully take in the physical, tactile
experience.

Next, the Two Guys with PhDs turn
to the four new Hanna-Barbera one-shots from DC Comics:
the Adam Strange/Future Quest
Special(by Mark Andreyko, Jeff Parker, and
Steve Lieber), the Booster Gold/The Flintstones
Special(Mark Russell, Rick Leonardi, and Scott
Hanna), the Green Lantern/Space Ghost
Special(James Tynion IV, Christopher Sebela, and
Ariel Olivetti), and theSuicide Squad/The Banana Splits
Special (Tony Bedard, Ben Caldwell, and Mark
Morales).They both enjoy all four of the titles,
although Derek has some reservations about the Suicide
Squad/Banana Splits team-up, and Andy feels that the Green
Lantern/Space Ghost one is a missed opportunity. But they spend
about as much time discussing the short backups in these four
specials, with Howard Chaykin's Ruff 'n' Reddy being a standout. Is
that any surprise?

About the Podcast

Two guys with PhDs talking about comics! The Comics Alternative is weekly podcast focusing on the world of alternative, independent, and primarily non-superhero comics. (There's nothing wrong with superhero comics. We just want to do something different.) New podcast episodes become available every Wednesday and include reviews of graphic novels and current ongoing series, discussions of upcoming comics, examinations of collected editions, in-depth analyses of a variety of comics texts, and spotlights on various creators and publishers. The Comics Alternative also produces "special feature" programs, such as shows specifically dedicated to creator interviews, webcomics, on-location events, and special non-weekly themes and topics.